Release Year: 2019
Reading Year: FA2023
Developer/Publisher: Hidden Layer Games/Chucklefish
Time to Beat: ~3 Hours

Thoughts: A cinematic and atmospheric indie game with incredible pixel art and music/sound design! I found the ambiguity of the story and non-linear vignettes to be quite intriguing. Ending did not stick the landing for me.

Release Year: 2010
Reading Year: FA2023
Developer/Publisher: Playdead/Microsoft Game Studios
Time to Beat: 2.5 Hours

Thoughts: Truly one of the OG indie titles that really put indie games on the map. It is tight, atmospheric, and keeps you moving along. Given that 13 years has gone by and that I am trying to get through the game after a few starts over the years, it feels like a bit of a relic. It is linear to a fault. It feels like this game was made to get casual gamers into the indie scene. There is so little room for ambiguity and each mechanic feels tuned to death.

Release Year: 2007/2021
Reading Year: WI2023
Developer/Publisher: BioWare/Electronic Arts
Time to Beat: 18 Hours

Thoughts: In 2008, I was listening to the Sarcastic Gamer Podcast and was amazed that three adults could talk for hours week-after-week about this game called Mass Effect. I was entranced by how invested they were in their stories, each unique to each person. It was endlessly entertaining, but felt too difficult and mature for me at the time. After a false start in 2014, I dusted off Legendary Edition to give Mass Effect a go to begin clearing out my decades long backlog.